Friday, October 26, 2012

Local Film "Bunohan" stalks on OSCAR

Dain
Said’s critically acclaimed film BUNOHAN is
Malaysia’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 85th
Academy Awards next year.

The
National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (FINAS), an agency under the
Ministry of Information, Communications & Culture Malaysia, has selected
the award winning film Bunohan to
represent Malaysia in the next instalment of the Oscar race.A record breaking 71 countries have submitted
films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category this year. Malaysia
has only ever submitted one film prior to this – Puteri Gunung Ledang in 2004.

“Although we have not
been submitting films to the Oscars for sometime, this year we are particularly
proud to have a film worthy of the selection based on the critical acclaim that
it has garnered both locally and internationally as well as having a solid record
of screenings at Oscar-qualifying festivals,” explained Naguib Razak, the Director
General of FINAS.

Bunohan had its world premiere at the Toronto
International Film Festival in September 2011, followed by regional premieres
at other reputable film festivals such as Rotterdam and Taipei. In the United
States, Bunohan was screened at several
Oscar-qualifying festivals, including in Los Angeles, Palm Springs and
Seattle.It was released theatrically in
Malaysia in March 2012 to rave critical reviews and more than held its own
against mainstream genre films.

Since its world
premiere in Toronto, the film has secured major sales & distribution deals
internationally, with international sales being handled by Easternlight Films, and
Traction Media handling sales in the US.

Bunohan is distributed in UK, French, German,
Benelux & Australian territories by Universal Pictures, while its US
distributor, Oscilloscope Pictures is planning a 2013 release.

“This submission is not just a matter of declaring
Malaysia’s best candidate, but rather an acknowledgement of this Malaysian
film’s significant international accomplishment and international release
potential,” added Naguib.

The film’s writer-director
Dain Iskandar Said was very humbled when notified, and is relieved that Bunohan satisfied the Academy’s
submission requirements. The producer, Nandita Solomon is grateful for the
national recognition bestowed on Bunohan,
Dain’s first feature to meet audiences. She added that this happy news comes
together with the nomination for Achievement in Cinematography for Bunohan’s
director of photography, Jarin Pengpanich at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards in
Australia. Both Nandita and Dain are currently pitching Apparat’s next feature
film project Interchange in the Asian
Project Market at the Busan International Film Festival in Korea.

Bunohan’s entry for the Oscar is timely in light
of the rapid and strong growth of the Malaysian film industry in recent years. The
emergence of Malaysian feature filmmakers like Dain who are generating films
strong enough to compete in the international market continues the success of
Malaysian animation and documentaries that have been penetrating the
international markets in recent years.

Naguib adds, “Bunohan’s success is important in
conveying the right message to young filmmakers to break new ground, to
constantly challenge themselves with content that connect and has resonance
with its audience.”

Bunohan, written and directed by Dain Iskandar
Said, tells the tragic story of three
estranged brothers - a kickboxer, a businessman and an assassin who return to
their hometown, Bunohan, where their
fates intertwine with dark consequences. It stars Faizal Hussein, Zahiril Adzim
and Pekin Ibrahim, supported by Bront Palarae, Sofi Jikan, Nam Ron, Wan Hanafi
Su, Amerul Affendi and Tengku Azura among others. It is produced by Nandita
Solomon of Apparat and co-produced by Tim Kwok of LA-based Convergence
Entertainment who will be spearheading the promotional campaign in the lead up
to the nominations.

Now that the final
list of submissions has been officially announced, the Academy will begin its
process of viewing and voting. From these 71 submissions, 9 will be
shortlisted, before the final five nominees will be announced by the Academy on
10 January 2013. The 85th Academy Awards will be held on 24 February
2013.

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